KEENE, N.H. – First year outside hitter Marina Miller set new season and career-bests with 21 kills and 19 digs while hitting .386 as the Keene State College women's volleyball team came from two sets down to beat Worcester State University 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-13, 25-22, 15-6) in non-conference action Tuesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.

The Owls (14-15) finish their modest home schedule winning six of their nine matches on their home court this season and have won four straight overall to move within one game of .500 ahead of their season-finale at Regis College Friday.  The Little East Conference tournament, for which KSC has clinched the No. 6 seed, gets underway next Tuesday with quarterfinal action.

Keene State ensured a positive conclusion at home for the season after they got their offense in gear over the final three sets, combining for 29 kills to just nine errors after racking up 14 attacking miscues over the opening two frames, both losses.

The turnaround began in the third when, after seeing 18-14 and 21-20 advantages in the second disappear, the Owls went on a 15-6 burst to take a 15-8 lead after allowing the opening two points.  The home team would roll from there, finishing a 25-13 set win in which they limited Worcester to -.118 attacking.

The fourth was far closer, with the Lancers moving out to a 5-2 lead thanks to a block and three consecutive kills.  KSC eventually fought back for a 12-12 tie and pushed ahead 17-13 on an ace by Delia Ryan prior to three straight kills by Colleen Fraser, who entered for the first time in the third set, but the ending was nip and tuck.  Katherine Crateau's ace deadlocked it at 18 for WSU, and the visitors would not go away, twice getting within one after Rudberg's kill made it 22-19.  However, Stephanie Olah came up with two big spikes to force a decisive fifth set.

KSC dominated the final frame, going up 3-0 on two swings by Miller and another by Olah and never trailing.  An ace by Rudberg made it 6-3 and forced the first Lancers timeout, and two straight miscues by the visitors made it 10-5.  Worcester got one point back on a kill by Angela Colonis, but Miller kicked off a match-ending 5-0 surge with a kill that also featured a pair of aces by Theresa Norris.

The Owls limited the Lancers to a negative attack percentage in two of the final three sets and outhit them .157 to .102 overall on the night.  To force the fifth, KSC posted an impressive .333 (17 kills, three errors) mark to help nullify Worcester's team-best .217 clip in the fourth.

Miller and Olah (12 kills) combined for 33 of the Owls' 52 kills.  Fraser added seven, while Norris had 25 digs and Alexis Small 45 assists and 13 digs.

Colonis was the lone Lancer to reach double-digit kills, finishing with 14 as the visitors suffered their 19th straight loss in the series.  Their only win in 25 all-time chances against KSC came in 2004.

The Owls' season finale against Regis kicks off a 4:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon (November 8).